Midwestern State at St. Mary's
Friday, Oct. 29 – 6 p.m.
Bill Greehey Arena (San Antonio, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 10-6
Video | Live Stats
 
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Midwestern State (3-17, 1-11 LSC) starts their week fresh with a trip down to Bill Greehey Arena to face St. Mary's (11-7, 5-6 LSC) in a Lone Star Conference battle. The Friday night match kicks off at 6 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas.
 

FIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Lauryn Bourne continues to lead the Mustangs offensively, smashing 185 total kills with an average of 2.72. The sophomore's 611 attack attempts sits eighth in the Lone Star Conference while her average of 8.99 ranks ninth in the conference. Bourne launched 54 attempts at Texas A&M International (9/17) for a season-high and her best performance in kills was in the first match of the season against Colorado Christian (9/03) with 19 put downs. The outside hitter notched 209.5 points (3.08 ppg) with 13 service aces and 19 blocks, gaining a season-high three stops at Texas Woman's (10/02) and three service aces against No. 18 UT Tyler (10/09).. On the defensive side, Bourne is second behind Amy DeWalt with 198 digs (2.91/set). In the 2020 season, the Cypress, Texas native notched 148 kills for a 2.85 average and added 3.12 digs per set.

Alissa Tolbert is the top hitter for St. Mary's with 3.52 kills per set and a .210 attack percent. The senior averages 3.88 points on 14 service aces and 0.28 blocks per set.
 
2 |  Lissette Lefforge tops Midwestern State on the blocking front with a Lone Star Conference 15th best 51 total blocks, split into ten solos and 41 block assists. Her average of 0.84 stops per set sits 17th in the LSC while she saw eight shutdowns against Seattle Pacific (9/04) as her best performance thus far. On the attacking front, the middle blocker put down 141 kills in 363 attempts to average 2.31 kills and 2.99 points. Lefforge completed 21 smack downs against Texas Woman's (10/02) for a career-high. The senior put up a 0.215 hitting percent for the season and added 11 service aces. In 2020, the Otis, Colo. native had 162 kills and averaged 2.28 pet set with 53 total block stops.
 
Julia Deais leads the Rattlers with 41 total blocks to average 0.72. The senior collected 2.22 points per set through 1.63 kills and ten service aces in 15 matches.
 
3|  Autumn Roach holds the tenth higehest assists in the Lone Star Conference with 383 on the 2021 season. Her average of 5.39 gains a conference rank of 14th. The sophomore accumulated ten matches with 20+ assists in her 19 appearances. Roach collected a season-high 38 landed at Texas A&M International (9/17). The setter completed seven aces, gaining two at Texas A&M-Kingsville (9/18). In 2020, she collected 365 helpers (5.14 average) along with 30 service aces. Reagan Willms is the main counterpart in the setting positon with 266 total assists and a 4.03 average. Willms leads MSU with 20 service aces, landing five aces against Texas A&M International (9/17) and four versus Eastern New Mexico (9/10).

Cali Nims and Aislan Lennon are neck-in-neck to lead StMU in assists. Nims has 392 with an average of 5.60 while Lennon notches 325 on a 4.85 per set basis. As a freshman, Nims notched 17 aces and 1.91 digs per set. Sophomore setter Lennon recorded ten perfect serves 2.01 digs on defense.
 
4 |  As a team, Midwestern State has covered 2,650 attack attempts to sit ninth in the Lone Star Conferece. This outweighs with the opposition tallying 2,535 tries at the net. The match at Texas Woman's (10/02) saw the Mustangs gather 214 attempts for the high of the season. MSU landed 1,029 digs versus the opposition's 1,069. DeWalt possesses 287 passes, gaining ninth in the LSC while her average of 3.88 passes per set sits 14th. The freshman completed 26 at Texas Woman's (10/02) while the team best came at Texas Woman's with 103. In addition, the Mustangs registered 792 assists to punch eighth in the conference and 855 kills on the season. On defense, Midwestern State sees 32 solo blocks and 156 block assists. Together, the Mustangs landed 79 aces on the year, serving up nine against No. 18 UT Tyler (10/09). 

5 |  The Mustangs currently ride an eleven-match losing streak that began after the team's 3-2 win at Texas A&M International (9/17). The last time MSU had a streak that was 11 games or longer was in the 2018 season when the squad dropped 13 straight matches. That year, Midwestern State went 5-23 overall for a 0.179 winning percent. The Mustangs gained a 3-17 Lone Star Conference record to land tenth in the conference standings. This was the year before the LSC merged with the Heartland Conference. Midwestern Sate currently sits in 17th in the conference while St. Mary's owns tenth.
 
 
HEAD COACH VALERIE ARMSTRONG enters her fourth season at the helm of the Midwestern State volleyball program. In the shortened 2020 season, the team amounted a 10-7 overall record, the best winning percentage since 2008. Another feat from last year was the program's first Lone Star Conference postseason win that came against DBU (3/23). Over three seasons, Armstrong has obtained a 26-68 record (.277). Before coming to Midwestern State in 2018, she had experience at all levels of collegiate volleyball. In Division I, Armstrong was assistant coach at Binghamton and Alabama State. She saw time as a head coach at two junior colleges including Vernon College and Colby Community College. Her first coaching job was the assistant at NAIA University of the Southwest in 2007 after graduating from Oklahoma Panhandle State. There she earned OPSU Female Athlete of the Year honors after leading the Aggies with 2.50 kills and 0.47 blocks per set as a senior in 2006.
 
SERIES WITH THE RATTLERS
Midwestern State owns a 10-6 advantage over St. Mary's in the 16 match series that initiated in 1987. Over the 34 years, the two teams have never met within conference play until this season with neutral sites being the usual host for the Lone Star Conference and Heartland Conference crossover matches. The Mustangs own a 2-1 record when playing in San Antonio, Texas. In the previous two match-ups, the Rattlers took home 3-0 victories in 2012 and 2013.